A few years later, I hop into the passenger seat of my
roommate's car. He makes a few effortless motions with the clutch and shifter,
and we're off in seconds.

There seem to be some forms of knowledge that cannot be
learned except by experience. Such as finding that “sweet spot” when using a
stick shift. Or learning how to apply spin to a ping-pong ball. Or knowing how
to drive a nail in with one hit. I’d suggest that governing is the same way.

In his 1947 essay “Rationalism in Politics,” British
conservative Michael Oakeshott argued that there are two types of knowledge:
technical knowledge and practical knowledge. Technical knowledge could be
learned rationally, I can read a “how-to” guide on driving a stick and I can
study the physics of spinning a ping-pong ball or hammering a nail. But if I am
unable to apply the technique practically, I wouldn’t say that I know how to drive
stick, spin a ping-pong ball, or hammer a nail. That requires practice, or experience.

Governance is the same way. A culture is a living,
breathing, moving, changing organism comprised of living, breathing, moving,
changing organisms. It needs to be governed by a person who has a “feel” for
the way that it moves. The statesman should not only have an understanding human
nature and moral principles that endure across time and culture, but also have an
understanding of the way that human nature and moral principles interact in his
particular culture. He needs to know what is politically feasible, whether a culture
can stand having certain laws passed, or certain laws removed. He understands that unwritten cultural laws have
a greater impact on daily life than unwritten laws.

The problem is that politicians today are often elected on
the basis of their rational system of government. “Experience” is considered a
subsidiary factor as we run our way down each candidates platform to see which
one’s policies agree with us the most. It’s why we get candidates making
outlandish promises, only to enter office with the realization that most of
what they promised is unworkable.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have an inexperienced
politician who is trying to do what is right than a politician whose policies are
hostile to Christianity. But voters often have an opportunity, in the primary,
to select a candidate who possesses the skills necessary for effective
governance, yet neglect to do so because another candidate’s platform best fits
their ideology. Conservatism, after all, isn’t just about rallying around eternal
moral truths. It’s about using the tools that we have to conserve those truths and, as best we can, to steer culture back to
them.